fishtv Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 There are free swimming worms in my tank. They are white and vary in size. They are killing all the fish in my tank and not vets want to supply anything that will treat them. Help Please. What do I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 They're killing your fish?!?? Are they attaching themselves to the fish? Are they hanging out their pooper? On the big ones, do they have an anchor, like a secton that is thicker than the rest of the body? If so, they are probably tubifex worms, they live in the gravel normally eating excess food, they're harmless but my fish dont seem to like eating them. They're a pain in the ass in my oscar tank. Good luck! I'm in Hamilton next week for a week, so if you're still having trouble I can poke my nose in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Watch the worms don't go up ya nose SW :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Watch the worms don't go up ya nose SW :roll: I'll try, but that might be a risk I have to take :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 If the worms are free swimming, any paracide should do the the trick. Anything with Praziquantel will be good. How clean is your tank, gravel, water etc. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowfax Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 do you have some kinda special attachment on your nose that you think will help spider? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Are they actually attaching themselves to the fish and killing them or do you mean your fish are dying in a tank that also has free swimming worms in it? What size is the tank and what is in it? What sort of filter do you have and what is your tank maintenance regimen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 they dont look like a stick with tentacles on one end do they? could be hydra and they are known to kill small fry... being wormy though sounds like planaria, havent heard of them turning serial killer though :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelj Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 If the worms are free swimming, any paracide should do the the trick. Anything with Praziquantel will be good. Where can praziquantel be obtained from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 pure prazi costs *heaps*. you could use drontal buy you want to take your fish out for the duration of the treatment- theres a chance you would find a tank full of dead fish if you treat with the fish in. copper based meds kill that sorta stuff too i think, not sure how copper goes with fish and good bacteria though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Hey the fish have been dying for some time and I have only noticed the worms today. They are free swimming and don't seem to be attaching themselves to the fish. AS my fish have been ill my tank has been kept very clean. A really really good gravel vac at least once a week and with that about a 25% water change.... I'm really stumped... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Yep your fish have been dying for a while. When you treated your previous diseases did you use for full term? I would say the worms are a result of over feeding, waste....ie; planaria. You really have to look at what you are doing with your fish. As how much you feed, taking more care when you buy fish etc. Praziquantel is in some parasite medicines here. Copper can kill fish too. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 A massive dose of copper sulphate (like 10x normal) didn't kill planaria in my tank but fomaldehyde did. Took out all the plants and fish and wanted to clean up the media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted March 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 So you are suggesting that my plants cause be causing this? I thought they helped? I dont have another tank to put the fish in so I need a way to fix this without removing the fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 I am not suggesting your plants have anything to do with it other than they may die from large doses of copper sulphate along with your fish and that it will not kill planaria but formalin will but it might kill plants and or fish as well, and it will kill planaria. Planaria multiply quickly in tanks with excess food through overfeeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted March 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 I have formalin on hand, would a half dose be worthwhile to try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 The formula I have calls for 12mls of 35% formalin/100 litres and instructs to remove the fish. 6mls will kill hydra but not planaria and 12 may kill your fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Stuff at LFS is only 5% I think. Also unless you're seeing these worms actually biting on or attacking the fish, then a Formalin dose will just make your tank problems worse. Most disease treatments also damage your bio filter etc making your tank have to recycle, which can result in fish loss due to ammonia or nitrite spikes. It can take a tank 6 weeks to settle in to a nice cycle, and meds etc just make the process harder. Worms are normally a sign of overfeeding, so reduce feeding to a small sprinkle once per day and see how you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 I just looked at getting some of this.. might be worth trying to order some for yourself not sure if others have used it or if its any good, http://www.uskoi.com/prazipro.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Formalin is also used for viral diseases and flukes but it can be hard on fish. I got mine from the vet. It was super expensive from the chemist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Don't shake the bottle as the residue is even more toxic to fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 I have formalin on hand, would a half dose be worthwhile to try? What does the formalin bottle say on it? As in what does it say it treats? What are the instructions on the bottle? Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Seriously, dont put Formalin in there. So far all we've established is that the tank has worms that are white and freeswimming - this is not uncommon in aquaria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 this is not uncommon in aquaria. It is in mine :lol: It is something that I haven't come across much in my time too. Has fishtv done a goggle image search on Planaria worms, Anchor worms or Aquarium worms etc to find out what they are. Or are we meant to keep guessing for another 5 days? Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted March 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 http://images.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://www.imagequest3d.com/ImageFolio3_files/gallery/terrestrial/animalia/worms/tn_PDP00200.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.imagequest3d.com/cgi-bin/ImageFolio4/imageFolio.cgi%3Fdirect%3Dterrestrial/animalia/worms&h=94&w=144&sz=4&hl=en&start=27&tbnid=1HbMEu4XiyF-UM:&tbnh=61&tbnw=94&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfresh%2Bwater%2Bearthworms%26start%3D18%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN or maybe... The oligochaete... http://images.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://schools.ceh.ac.uk/images/freshpoll10_fig1.gif&imgrefurl=http://schools.ceh.ac.uk/advanced/freshpoll/freshpoll10.htm&h=133&w=568&sz=12&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=vBUQiN1PKNlaCM:&tbnh=31&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfresh%2Bwater%2Bearthworms%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG I dont know what they are and am only new to keeping fish. I really am trying to do my best. The worms are not anchor's as they are not attached to my fish. They swim with the top of them fixed in one place while the rest of their body snakes around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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